Much of yoga philosophy is concerned not with our specific actions, but the reasons and motivations behind our actions. Long before a person sits down to meditate or steps onto a mat, they are already carrying a lifetime of repeated thought and behaviour – patterns laid down so gradually that they come to feel less like habits and more like who that person is. Yoga has a specific term for these patterns: samskāras.
What Are Samskāras in Yoga Philosophy?
Samskāras are the impressions left by repeated thought, action, and experience. The word comes from the Sanskrit sam (“complete” or “connected”) and kara (“action” or “cause”). They shape how a person perceives and responds to people and events, often before they’re aware it’s happening.
A samskāra is not a specific behaviour but the underlying pattern beneath it – a habit of mind or of body, formed through repetition. They can be created in daily thought patterns and in our habits, both on and off the mat.
In yoga philosophy, samskāras are not treated as neutral. They compound. Each repetition of a pattern deepens the groove it leaves, making the pattern more likely to recur and harder to perceive as a choice rather than a default.
How does this compare to neuroscience and NLP?
Think of samskāras as a neural loop. Modern neuroscience describes something similar: the saying “neurons that fire together wire together”, means pathways are reinforced through repetition. Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) goes further, treating the mind as something closer to a system that runs on encoded patterns, and NLP practice often works directly to interrupt and redirect them.
The yogic view shares this interest in conditioning, but its aim is different. Where NLP is practical and present-tense – optimise the pattern, get a better result – yoga philosophy looks beyond the pragmatic. The goal isn’t to optimise behaviour. It’s liberation from the habitual patterning itself.
Are samskāras good or bad?
Yoga philosophy does not hold that all samskāras are harmful. Its concern is specifically with patterns that become binding – habits that constrict a life rather than serve it.
Some samskāras are constructive. A long-held yoga practice: showing up on the mat day after day is itself the deliberate construction of a pattern, repetition placed in service of something rather than against it.
The aim of practice, in this view, isn’t to eliminate habit altogether – that isn’t possible, and isn’t the point. It’s to develop enough awareness to notice which patterns are still serving a person, and which have simply outstayed their welcome.
How do you work with a samskāra you’d rather not be in?
Because samskāras are by definition automatic, a person is usually already within one before they notice it. The first step is to pause for long enough to create a gap between stimulus and response – between the familiar groove and conscious choice. That gap is where change becomes possible.
Why disruption makes samskāras visible
Routine is what builds a samskāra, but routine is also what conceals it — a pattern unconsciously followed every day is hard to see precisely because it’s never interrupted. Disruption to ordinary routine, whatever its other costs, tends to make underlying patterns visible by removing the structure that normally hides them.
On the mat, this might mean deliberately choosing an unfamiliar movement during free practice, rather than defaulting to whatever the body already knows. Off the mat, journaling can serve a similar function: writing slows a thought down long enough to see its actual shape, rather than simply living inside it. Both these pauses help identify and name a pattern – what it is, and what it was originally for – and serves to loosen its hold. Any disruption to a regular routine, though, can create enough space for reflection. It’s why many of us come back from a holiday wanting to change certain aspects of our lives.
We know instinctively how to do this work.
Examples of Positive Samskāras (Constructive Habits)
- Mindful Movement: The automatic reflex to roll out your yoga mat or take a walk when you feel stressed, rather than turning to a screen.
- Gratitude & Compassion: The natural tendency to say “thank you” or to instinctively help someone who dropped something.
- Self-Discipline: The routine of taking a few moments every morning to breathe deeply or meditate, grounding your day before checking emails.
- Healthy Choices: The habitual preference for reaching for a glass of water or healthy snack out of self-care.
Examples of Negative Samskāras (Limiting Habits)
- Impulsive Reactions: The knee-jerk reaction to snap at a loved one when you are feeling overwhelmed or tired.
- Procrastination: The default habit of putting off difficult tasks or mindlessly scrolling through social media as an avoidance tactic.
- Self-Doubt: The automatic negative self-talk that occurs the moment you face a new challenge.
- Cravings & Aversions: The habitual, unconscious craving for an extra cup of coffee or sugary food just because it is your routine, even when your body does not need it.
How to Transform Them
- Noticing the Trigger: Pausing when you feel a strong, automatic emotional reaction.
- Replacing the Habit: Consciously choosing a positive action or thought to overwrite the old neural pathway.
- Consistency: Practicing the new behavior repeatedly to dig a “new, positive groove” in your mind.
This is one reason disrupted routines — a change in life stage, a change in household, a change in season, a holiday — can be worth reflecting on, even when the disruption itself is unwelcome.
This piece accompanies a personal essay on samskāras and the disruption of routine, published on The Yoga Almanac.
